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Police officers found her approaching the motorway before she led them on a chase up the motorway, reaching speeds of up to 85mph.

The court heard how she had left the motorway at junction 22 for Burnham on Sea, collided with another car, and then pulled into a holiday park.

When police tried to block her escape, she drove headlong into their car, causing more than £12,000 worth of damage.

Defending, Patrick Mason said Wyatt suffered a number of mental health difficulties, as well as a number of physical disabilities and had been under the care of mental health teams since she was 12-years-old.

"She is a young woman with a complex constellation of problems. She had a complicated history with the family members she was sending messages to.

"The gun she had was a training gun – it was made of rubber. Unless she had thrown it at someone, it couldn't have harmed anyone."

"When she stepped onto the motorway bridge that day, she had reached a tipping point," he added.

"She had committed herself to a certain course of action and it was embarrassing to un-commit from it.

"She has numerous medical problems that need intervention."

But Recorder Martin Meeke said he had no option but to sentence her to a prison sentence, after hearing that mental health teams had deemed her "capable" of making her own decisions and dealing with the consequences of them.

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He sentenced her to three months in prison for malicious communication, six months in prison for the possession of the imitation firearm, six months in prison for the dangerous driving charge and eight months in prison for the public nuisance charge. She was also banned from driving for two years.

He told her: "I have carefully considered the question of suspending your sentences, but it is abundantly clear to me that the custody threshold has been passed. It would be inappropriate to suspend the sentences.

"You are a threat to yourself, to the mental health workers who tried to help you, to the policeman you drove at and members of the public.

"They may be nameless and faceless, but members of the public have the right to go about their business unencumbered by you."